1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to printers, and more particularly, to a printer capable of writing characters both vertically and laterally.
2. Description of the Background Art
Some word processors are known as allowing selection of a desired format among a plurality of formats and printing characters in the selected format. In such word processors, a format is designated according to feeding direction of paper to be fed, alignment direction of characters to be printed, and the like. More specifically, at the time of loading sheets of paper into a cassette for feeding, selection can be made between a longitudinal feeding manner where the longitudinal direction of the printing sheets is parallel with the feeding direction, and a traverse feeding manner where the longitudinal direction of the printing sheets is orthogonal with the feeding direction. Additional selection is made between a lateral printing where alignment direction of characters to be printed is parallel with the moving direction of a printing head (perpendicular to the feeding direction), and a vertical printing where alignment direction of the characters is orthogonal with the moving direction of the printing head.
In FIG. 8A, there are shown sheets of paper 40 being fed into a printer 50 in the longitudinal feeding manner. When a format of "longitudinal feeding and lateral writing" has been set, the alignment direction of characters is orthogonal with the longitudinal direction of a printing sheet 40a (parallel with feeding direction A of the printing sheets 40), as shown in FIG. 8A with a character-string of "ABCD".
If the printing sheets 40 of A4 size are fed into the printer 50 in the so-called traverse feeding manner, as shown in FIG. 8B, while the above-mentioned format "longitudinal feeding and lateral writing" has been set, character-strings will be printed only in an area l1 of a printing sheet 40b which could overlap with the printing area of the printing sheet 40a fed in the longitudinal feeding manner. However, since the remaining printing area l2 (corresponding to an area l3 indicated by two-dot chain line on the longitudinally fed sheet 40a in FIG. 8A) do not overlap with the traversely fed sheet 40b printing information for the area l2 can not be printed.